VERNAL, Utah, June 20, 2023 (Gephardt Daily) — A Vernal man has been jailed on felony charges after he admitted taking an Indiana juvenile who was found at his trailer residence.
Matthew Brian Barrow, 23, was charged Monday on suspicion of kidnapping and sexual exploitation of a minor, both second-degree felonies.
Charging documents filed by an officer of the Vernal Police Department indicate the 17-year-old victim was located and taken to a local medical center for evaluation after she expressed suicidal thoughts.
“During this initial contact the juvenile expressed she was afraid Matthew would be arrested,” charging documents say.
“Matthew was located by officers and he expressed he had met the victim while working as a suicide crisis worker over the internet. Matthew explained he had gotten the juvenile from Indiana and brought her back to Vernal.”
The victim later told investigators “she had met Matthew on the internet as he had put it out there that he could help people with suicidal ideations due to his past. The juvenile told me she became very close to Matthew as they seemed to have a connection. The juvenile told me about the problems she had at home … and Matthew offered to help her out.”
The girl said she had been in contact with Barrow for about four months, and a month earlier “they began to formulate a plan for him to come to Indiana to get her. She told me that about five days prior, Matthew had showed up to her house in Indiana at about 3 or 4 in the morning. She told me she snuck out a window and met Matthew in the alleyway behind her house.”
The girl said she had not informed her parents she was leaving.
“The juvenile told me they then traveled back to Vernal, Utah where they had been since.”
Post Miranda, Barrow told the officer he had met the girl via Snapchat.
“He said he had put out a Snapchat story telling people he had experience with suicidal thoughts from his past and was looking to help people. Matthew said he had communicated with about 20 juveniles all across the country about these things,” charging documents say.
“Matthew said he had never met up with or gone to these other individuals and they had since blocked him on Snapchat.
“Matthew said he and the juvenile hit it off and their relationship became romantic in nature. Matthew said eventually their conversations turned sexual,” and they exchanged explicit photos, he said.
Barrow confirmed that about a week prior, he had driven to Indiana and had picked up the girl without her parents’ permission.
“Matthew expressed he knew what he did wasn’t right but he did it to help her.”
Barrow admitted to having sexual relations with the juvenile, but said “it was consensual between them…. Matthew told me that their intention in Vernal was to live as spouses until she turned 18 years old, when at that time they would marry each other and have a family. Matthew said he was not a ‘pedo’ and that he knew she had to turn 18 years old before they got serious.”
Charging documents said the investigation is ongoing and additional charges are likely to be filed. Barrow is being held without bail in the Uintah County Jail.
People who are having suicidal thoughts are urged to call the National Suicide and Crisis Lifeline at 988.
